Colorado State women's basketball holds on for win over Seattle

Spotton, Duffy lead another strong effort from Rams' bench

By Sean Star Sports Writer

Posted:
11/17/2012 04:30:41 PM MST

Colorado State freshman guard Caitlin Duffy rises over Kacie Sowell of Seattle during the first half of Saturday afternoon's game at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. Duffy was part of another strong performance by the CSU bench, leading to a 58-55 Rams' victory.
(CHRIS STARK)

FORT COLLINS -- For the second straight game, the bench for the Colorado State women's basketball team significantly outplayed its counterpart, and also for the second straight game, the Rams came out on top.

Reserve forward Kara Spotton scored a team-best 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor -- her second straight double-digit effort -- as CSU built a 15-point lead early in the second half before holding on for a 58-55 win over visiting Seattle on Saturday at Moby Arena.

After grabbing a 24-18 lead at the break, CSU started the second half on a 13-4 run to go ahead 37-22. The run was fueled by some sharp 3-point shooting, as Caitlin Duffy, Sam Martin and Hayley Thompson each nailed one from behind the arc, in addition to a pair of layups from Spotton.

Colorado State senior forward Meghan Heimstra pressures Sylvia Shepard of Seattle University during the first half of Saturday afternoon's game at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. The Rams won 58-55.
(
CHRIS STARK
)

CSU remained comfortably ahead for much of the second half until the Redhawks (0-3) made a late, furious charge fueled by Ashley Ward's 14 second-half points. After a Spotton jumper with 5:10 to play made it 50-36 in favor of the Rams, the Redhawks responded with a 19-6 run to cut it to one, 56-55, with 10 seconds left. That's when CSU freshman guard Taylor Varsho chased after her own free-throw miss, sending her right back to the line, where she made 1 of 2 again to put the Rams ahead by three.

Seattle had a chance to tie it with 4 ticks left, but Sylvia Shepard's desperation attempt just past half court missed everything as the buzzer sounded.

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"We made just enough plays, just enough," said CSU coach Ryun Williams, whose team improved to 2-1 on the young season. "Defensively, outstanding, and I thought the start of that second half was really key for us. We built enough of a margin to survive. I was really proud of the winning plays that we made late.

"I mean we can sit here and harp on the free throws, or what have you, but let's focus on the winning plays that were made, which was Varsho's (rebound)."

Seattle junior forward Kacie Sowell entered the game scoring 20.5 points a contest but was held well below that average thanks to a collective effort by the CSU defense and foul trouble. Sowell had just four points at the half and finished with 10 total, as Ward scored a game-best 20 points, including a 15-for-17 effort from the free-throw line.

"We focused a lot on (Sowell) in practice, obviously because she was averaging that many points... we watched a lot of film on her, and tried to take away her baseline," said CSU junior forward Sam Martin, who notched her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. "As a team, we did a really good job of not even let her touch the ball all that much. We got a lot of steals off them trying to throw it in, and we really took away their paint game. That's what took them out of the beginning of the game, and then they kind of came back because they started to hit shots. So I think as a team we did a pretty good job of guarding the paint, and that's what we focused on."

After the CSU reserves outscored Northern Colorado 25-9 in a win Tuesday, the Rams had a 28-13 advantage in bench scoring Saturday. In addition to Spotton's contributions, Duffy was also a big factor.

Making her debut as a Ram after missing the first two games recovering from a broken wrist, Duffy did a little bit of everything, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

"Honestly I wasn't really thinking too much about my wrist, more just about it being the first game back," said Duffy, a 5-foot-11 guard from Rapid City, S.D. "I was more worried about the first-game jitters and all that, but I didn't really have time to worry about that, because it was a pretty intense game. But yeah, it's feeling good, and it was a fun game to be back for."

Williams said his team will have to keep getting similar production from its bench going forward, including Duffy, whose debut Saturday was invaluable.

"For her first game, to be throw in that fire, to be trapped and pressured like she did, and to face that quickness, I thought Duffy was really crucial," Williams said. "I don't think we win that game if we don't have Caitlin Duffy on that floor tonight."